UPDATE TO THIS POST: I didn't make the following week at printmaking but Wow! Take a look at some of the results of the printmaking class. This is the result of having a tutor who is willing and able to go with the flow and be creative and experimental. Looks fantastic: http://johnmulvay.blogspot.com/2010/04/printmaking-class.html

I've done monoprints, and collographs...have always avoiding the more chemical processes. My friend, John Mulvay, a fulltime artist who lives locally, has recently been running a printmaking course so I joined in.

This is a zinc plate. First we had to file the edges to make a 45degree angle for a clean print result. Then we polished the plate to remove any scratches and pitting. Next step was to choose the best process for our design and put a "ground" on the plate. The plate was heated on an element, then the ground (a waxy substance that resists acid) is poured over it, and the plate put back on the heating element to "puddle"... the ground evens out.

The next step was to scratch through the ground the chosen design. I had no idea what to do, and quickly drew a bird. My signature had to be in reverse of course.

Next step - touching up accidental scratches with shellac. The plate was placed in a bath of nitric acid, eight minutes for mine, and them removed and washed.

The ground then was removed with turps, and the shellac with meths.

The oil based ink was applied, that's quite a process as it has to be worked over the plate well to get it into the tiniest etched scratches. Then the excess ink is removed until the plate is shiny clean, only ink in the etching.

John had brought one of his printing presses to the venue, and some paper to trial the plate. The paper of course is soaked in water and patted dry in a towel then laid between white paper. All the while trying to make sure no ink gets anywhere it shouldn't be.

The plate is laid on the press, the rag paper on top, felt layers folded down the the press turned.

And...... failure! Did not make a decent impression at all.

Could be the plate was not cleaned properly after the use of turps which can leave a greasy surface. The pressure might not have been enough. Perhaps the plate needs further etching...not sure. We'll be talking about it before we print again.

I dont think I'm patient enough for this process but its been interesting.

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

This was difficult to photograph .. it is still not perfectly correct. However, here is another of my abstract expressionism series. Working on a title at present.. its something to do with night time and darkness... Acrylic on canvas, 24 x 36 x 1 1/2 " .

About Me

Artist in mixed media, painting, drawing, collage and photography. My drawings and photography are often a beginning point in my artwork and I’ve explored the shapes from these images in painting, in textural layers on canvas or paper, working in acrylics and mixed media. Much of my work has been figurative based on life drawings, but I also create abstract works.
Author of non-fiction books.
Editor/proofreader.
Bachelor of Arts (English, Writing, History).Graduate Diploma of Secondary Teaching . Advanced Diploma in Art & Creativity - http://bit.ly/1zkAYj5

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... the contemplation of the form of the model, a fellow human being, may be compared to an act of humility in which the artist temporarily forgets his or her physical frailties and imperfections and marvels at the diversity possible within the human form.

"Mine and body"

Acrylic on canvas 36" x 24" - there is much mythology about the earth, the land as earth mother, and this painting is a visual metaphor for how I feel about mining - the land as the body, the earth mother, and the layers of the land, vulnerable, scarred, powerless.

Mixed Media

Defining Beauty

Paper Collage

Red Nude

Mixed Media drawing

Waiting 2

Acryic on Canvas 10" x 30"

Waiting 1

Acrylic on Canvas 10" x 30"

Chain Reaction

This the first of a new series.

Submission

Acrylic on Canvas, 15" x 30"

Extracts from Trapped Self

Acrylic on canvas, 20" x 36" Painted on a winter's day, feeling the aching cold I attacked this canvas which did create some heat, it glows from her body.

"Then how shall we track your journey"

Acrylic on canvas, 24" x 36" In this image I thought of the machinery removing the gold and silver from below the ground, and mythology about the Greek god Hades. Hades was the god of wealth, he owned all of the precious gems and minerals that lay below the surface of the earth.

"Soul and mine illuminate"

Acrylic on canvas, 36" x 24" - the colours of the exposed earth are different depending on the time of day, the light and the viewpoint. There is now a walkway around much of the perimeter of the open cast gold mine operating here in New Zealand.

Warm Winter

This is based on my photograph of the sunset at Waitete Bay and incorporating figures taken from a life drawing class - last year one of the models brought her husband along to pose as well. The title comes from a Kid Rock song that made me think about the myth of Persephone who was taken down into the dark depths of the underworld by Hades, God of the Underworld. Acrylic media on canvas 32 x 39 inches.